The Thing About Never Ever
by Yonahdoxie57
Summary: The doctor calculates a way to get back to Rose.However, he has to make some...sacrifices.Rose meets the burning TARDIS at the beach with one odd passenger inside, a baby with dark brown eyes. Ten/Rose. Fluff, no Smut.
1. The First to Know

_An "adding on" to "The Runaway Bride" the first episode the tenth Doctor (David Tennant) meets Donna, before Martha. I'm an American but I've been to England. I've ridden the trains, drank the tea (with milk, like I have ALWAYS taken it), had the breakfast and so much more. So if you think there is a good place for some wonderful British lingo please let me know! I need help in that area. _

_Constructive Criticism is always welcome!_

_Oh and by the way, I totally don't own any of the wonderment of Doctor Who. I wish I had time and relative dimension in space so I could go back and pitch the concept of the Doctor to Sydney Newman and Terry Nation and work with them on it in the first place. But alas, I do not._

_Also, my deepest apologies to Russell T. Davies for starting with HIS setting and HIS fantastic lines. Read as they slowly change into my simple story: The Thing About Never Ever_

Chapter One

The First to Know

"Merry Christmas." She said, still smiling about the snow.

"And you?" The doctor looked up at the wondrous precipitation gently falling. "So, what will you do with yourself now?"

She rambled on about possible options while the Doctor thought carefully about his next question. Perhaps it's just best to ask, and not think about it. The worst Donna could say is no.

"…I don't know, travel…" Donna's words caught the Doctor's attention and reminded him of how Rose would call it traveling.

Donna continued "Just go out there and do something." He definitely caught that.

"Well, you could always..."

"What?"

"…come wit me." There. He had said it. No taking it back. Could he possibly replace the hole in his heart before it had a chance to get any bigger? Was that what he was trying to do? Just forget his Rose Tyler?

"No…"

"Okay!" He already planned the word. Like a teenager shot down for his first date.

"I can't…" He didn't want to hear her excuses. She's not interested.

"No, it's fine!" He assured her, he didn't need an explanation. He just needed to stare at his worn high tops.

"I couldn't. But there is someone who could." Donna paused until the Doctor looked up at her with the face of a lost child. "Your friend… who was she?"

No answer from the Doctor he looked back down at his old, yet still completely fashionable shoes. He fiddled with his fingers inside his pockets thinking about how Rose used to tease him about his footwear and laughed at him. Oh, yeah, her laugh… He shook himself out of that happy memory before it began.

Donna waited patiently for his mind to stop traveling the universe (and then some) she said "Promise me one thing."

He sighs. "And what would that be?" The Doctor looked up hopeless.

"Find her."

He picked his chin up quickly. Donna continued "You need someone, you need her."

"I CAAAN'T!" He whined like a three-year-old and bent at the hips, hands in pockets. "NEVER! Never ever! She-" Now it was Donna's turn to refuse an excuse.

"OH YEAH! What's her name then?"

He started to stand tall and proud to say the name of his best friend, his companion, but as he spoke the sadness in his voice spoke louder, "Her name was Rose." His voice deepened, so that the sound of his two hearts breaking might be covered up, somehow. He tried to swallow it back with his Adam's apple.

Donna says defiantly. "You're wrong."

"Well hang on a second!" The Doctor snapped out of self-pity and into self-defensive mode. He started talking faster, hands now out of his pockets. "You don't even know what happened! First of all, the parallel world vortex was closed and it was point thirty-three infinite three out of forty-two billionth of a chance that we even found that alternate slash parallel world to being with! AND THEN the Daleks from the sphere forced me to-"

SLAP! Right across the face.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENED!" Donna yelled at his sad dark eyes. They don't match his angered, not ginger, eyebrows that are still in shock of yet another slap delivered by Donna. "You just said right now that 'her name WAS Rose.'" Donna held up the universal sign for I'm quoting an idiot. "But before, when you got me to jump into THAT thing" She pointed to the TARDIS with a straight arm. "You said that she was 'very much alive'!" Again with the air quotes.

He stood there. Amazed. Jaw dropped open. He was just staring, but not at her. His gaze was a little to the left, unsure of himself of what he really believes. She's dead, but alive but never will they be together. Never ever.

"Wait. Hwhat?" One eyebrow went up, along with the pitch of his voice.

"I'm just saying that if you-"

"Hwhat?" Even higher now, on both aspects.

"If you love-" Donna stopped because the Doctor suddenly fell backwards back into the closed doors of the TARDIS. She reached out to catch a now flailing arm just in time.

The response is softer and lower, almost a weak breath. "Hwhat?" said directly into Donna's close eyes. He was confused, and it was obvious on his face. How could Donna understand him, all so soon? They just met! How could someone know him that well in less than a day? Donna got him standing up straight again and he used the hand that tried to catch the TARDIS door to now hold his head. Did he hit the door? Or did he a realization knock him off his feet with a billy club? He rubbed a bump that didn't exist. Donna just looked at him the kind of way an irritated mother looks at her teenage son when he did something stupid, again. Yes, a hand on the matching hip and all.

His jaw finally moved, but just a bit. "I can't ever get her back. I lost her." Said in a whisper. He's not going to fight Donna. He simply can't get her back.

The mother tone retorted "Well maybe you need to start referring to her in the present tense and THEN start thinking less on how you can't get her back and more of ways to GET TO HER!"

Irritated beyond belief he continued his frenzy "Donna, I don't know how to explain it to you so that you will understand! There is no way that I could ever generate enough power to find her AND get to where she is! Not unlessss…" His last word trailed off, getting quieter, but inside that melon of his, his thought continued.

"Unless what?" Donna tried to get him to realize that he's still standing in the snow having a conversation. The Doctor, just stared, deep in thought, jaw dropped, eyebrows up, eyes open wide. He was creating a wondrous plan. For once, an actual plan. Donna can hear some jargon something about energy and numbers and, wait, what was that?, and some more numbers… "No, impossible…"he mumbled. Then numbers, just, lots of numbers.

Finally his words became more vocal and louder and louder "….-ven million and four, carry the TWO AND!" He stopped abruptly for a breath. "THAT IS FANTASTIC!" He reached out for Donna, grabbed her with her arms stuck to her sides and picked her up. "YES. YES. YES! YEEEEEAAS! THAT'S IT! And you! You were bloody magnificent! How did you know!"

"Know what?" Donna asked honestly as he put her back down.

"That I lo-…." He stopped himself with a quick hand in front of his smiling open mouth, looking at Donna questionably. Beginning again, now much softer and with a little grin of determination "Well, I want her to be the first to know." His smile was adorable.

He snapped out of it, suddenly remembering all the work he has to do. "What am I standing here for?" He frantically jumped around to face the TARDIS then turned back to Donna. He grabbed her face on either side, hair in between her skin and his hands. "I PROMISE." He added a hard kiss on her forehead. The doctor let her go and called back a thank you right before the doors of the TARDIS are slammed shut behind him.

The woman in her wedding gown calmly smiles as the TARDIS fainted away. She sighs "Well, at least he's got some hope now. Yeah… hope and love."

What are the Doctor's plans? To be with Rose. The only person he has ever been so captivated with so much so that he actually can say that he… Well, Rose should be the first to know. BUT HOW?

_Thanks to my fantastic "editor-in-chief" for both editing and for watching Doctor Who with me. _

_Also, much thanks to MY OWN Doctor and his smile._

_I promise you won't have to wait forever and a month to wait for the other chapters. Sicne they'er already written! Thanks for reading!_


	2. The Actual Plan

Chapter Two

The Actual Plan

The Doctor, now filled with such magnificent hope, flew his legs around the TARDIS controls. If you listen closely, you can hear the numbers again amongst the crashing sounds. Like a calculator with two hearts. He was double checking his math. But how could a Time Lord get his math wrong?

But this… this is worth a recheck. Especially, with this massive mysterious headache that he didn't care about right now.

This was his chance to be with Rose. Not to just only ensure that_ he_ won't ever be alone, but to be absolutely certain that _she_ will never know the loneliness that he had is whole life…until he met her. She loved him! She said it to him. He remembered how those words made him feel. It was practically yesterday to him. And we see a huge, eyebrows up, open mouth, smile, appear over the TARDIS controls.

"Ohh, That's right. She loves me…." His gaze falls to the left again. He stopped what he was doing. The TARDIS shook. His grin grew and he quickly said, "I better get to work then!"

It was going to take some time to get everything he needed. Well, what's time to a Time Lord anyway? Relative time for him lasted about half a year. You would have to ask him the exact number of minutes he spent away from Rose Tyler. He knows.

The TARDIS was parked. Somewhere, some-when. And the Doctor was sitting high up, on one of the "branches" of the TARDIS control room, living room, foyer, whatever you want to call it.

He had a pencil and paper with him. He was scribbling wildly. Not that he needed to write it all down. He wanted a record of his plan to share with Rose. To prove to her that he actually_ had_ a plan. Like a gift of sorts. The margins were filled with mathematical numbers, symbols, equations and, oh yes, imaginary numbers too!

He frantically flipped up the page of the yellow tab paper. Immediately, he started to write more.

"I'm going to need more paper." He mumbled to himself and to the TARDIS.

The title of this page was "Shopping List".

-Lanthanides from Asterina

-Plantonium from Katilina Five

-Rose's love

-new Tanik coils for the TARDIS from Crymegitron

-Black light from Ravolox

-Something very special from the leisure planet, Midnight

- Tinclavic metal from Raaga

The list went on and on. Only one item had a check next to it. The Doctor had spent his whole life traveling around from planet to planet between time and through time. Now, all of that was adding up to this plan. He knew where everything was that he needed to make it work. He knew when to travel there and who to get it from.

He needed to get the TARDIS into the best shape it had ever been. It was going to break the time vortex. Er… open the time vortex. I mean, fix it up so that it could get though…. It barely made sense to the Doctor even. Since it was impossible. But that wasn't going to stop him.

About three more months past for him… Constantly going across the universe and time to get everything he needed. He's an insomniac, so when a normal person would sleep, the Time Lord tinkered. He placed in the new parts into the TARDIS with one tool, a screwdriver. She, the TARDIS, didn't like it very much. If he did this it would mean that all the time traveling she had done would now be over. Did he even care about the TARDIS anymore?

The truth is.

The TARDIS missed Rose too. She missed the happiness she got to witness when Rose was with the Doctor. Somehow the Doctor knew how the TARDIS felt. He had a lot of faith in the TARDIS. He was going to need two things when this was all over, he made a mental list: Rose and the TARDIS. There, checked off. He simply continued to work.

"_ROSE TYLER, I LOVE YOU!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. He burst his arms apart ready for her leap. Only when she jumped and he was about to receive the best hug ever from his best friend, she vanished like smoke. _

The Doctor quickly sat up and hit his head on some metal bar. He was dreaming. It's too bad that his dream won't come true. Not like that. All in good time, however.

Today is the day. Well, what are days to a Time Lord. Still. Perhaps, this is the best day of his life, his last day as a true, Time Lord.

"Rose." He whispered softly.

She was sleeping. His projected image was standing next to her bed. He could see her image too. Her hair grew out longer then it was when they first met. He could hardly contain himself. He wanted to scream with delight. But wait. It just hit him and he took a step back. What if she had fallen in love with someone else? The closest time he could get to her was three years after he saw her at the beach, to the day. That's practically four years apart. Her left hand was tucked underneath the pillow below her head. No, impossible. Not her. She was so loyal. But four years is more than five and a half hours and she is so beautiful. Damn. Was all that work for nothing? He had been so filled with hope while he worked so hard on the TARDIS just to get to this exact moment. He didn't have room for doubts. He decided not to say anything and thought to himself. He remembered the work. The effort. Getting just the right element of metal for the new coils took him five weeks of near to no sleep and three fires to get it right. Don't even mention the time when the sonic screwdriver broke and he had to "fly" all the way back to Calpix for the damn battery. THEN when he got there they were closed for some holiday to celebrate the invention of peanut butter or something like that.

The Doctor shook his head to forget that infuriating day. His hair moved back and forth a bit. That didn't matter anymore. He needed to find out if Rose still needed him, the way he needed her.

"Rose Tyler." He said louder. He imagined the Tyler mansion walls were pretty thick, maybe he could try again, louder still.

"Oi! WAKE UP!" He shouted with a grin.

She sat up fast. She was there, right in front of him. Sort of. His muse, his strength the only person he could ever… the only reason he wants to live.

"DOCTOR?" She called out in disbelief. She had, of course, dreamt of him from time to time. Okay, let's try like every night. This was not one of her dreams. It was similar to the beach, a fuzy image.

She jumped up to hug him, but stopped herself. She knew he was just a projection. She started to say something but the Doctor interjected first.

"Rose! Wait, I need to ask you something. Do you…er… do you still…."

"I love you!" She had waited years to say that to him again, him and only him. Her Doctor.

He grinned. She doesn't care right now that he's not answering, that smile was nice enough, for now.

"Fantastic! Come to the beach! Quick as you can! I'll be waiting for you." His image faded out.

"No, wait!" He didn't hear her. But it didn't matter. She smiled that wonderful wide smile. She had been waiting for him. She leapt out of bed, ran from her room and down the hall "Mum! MUM! It's him! It's the Doctor!" Her heart was pounding.

The family, and Mickey, piled into one of Pete's new Hybrid Hummers, he invented it, and they were off. The miles went quicker than their last trip to Bad Wolf Bay, new hydrogen fuel tanks with electrode boosts. "Still looks like a regular old car", Jackie would always tease him. Tony, Rose's little three year old brother, stayed behind with his nanny. You never know what's going happen around the Doctor.

The car went right up onto the beach and stopped near the water's edge, where the sand became more solid with the close water. Rose jumped out of the car before it came to a complete stop. She ran to the spot where the Doctor stood before. She would never forget.

"Rose! Wait!" Mickey called as he struggled to get his seatbelt off and ran after her. Jackie, Pete, Mickey and most importantly, Rose all stood there waiting for the Doctor, their good friend and defender of the earth. Mickey grinned to himself about the Doctor's line "It. Is. Defended!" If it wasn't for the Doctor he would probably be dead. Well, no. He would definitely be dead. On the other hand maybe he would have married Rose back on their old planet and time. He knew how much Rose loved the Doctor. He had gotten over her years ago. Mickey was stronger now.

Rose stared up at the sky while she mumbled. The others just met up behind her. "No, no, this can't be real. But it is…" She smiles back at her family. All those teeth and a tongue were proof that Rose truly had back all the hope she had lost these last years. Mickey used to sleep on the floor in Rose's room just to be there when she woke up screaming his name. Mickey smiled and looked up at the sky too.

That sound.

That music that should be terrifying.

The sound of metal against metal, a large rusty gear turning and turning…was getting louder and longer.

But to them, the sound of the TARDIS was one of the sweetest sounds they could hear. Other than a sound of Rose's laughter again.

How wondrous.

For one tick, the TARDIS music stopped. Not even long enough to wipe that smile off of Rose's face. THEN

CRASH! Like a gigantic glass window shattering all at once and falling onto a concrete floor. But there was no glass, no floor. Just the sand and the water…..oh, and the TARDIS!

The TARDIS was flying down like a chariot from heaven. Amazing and beautiful still spinning around, out of control, but beautiful.

Wait. Wait Rose. He's coming for you. Your Doctor. He fought all the rules of time and space just to be with you.

CRACK! The wood on the TARDIS started to crack.

"What?" Rose's smile was gone. Something was wrong. Then, just then, the TARDIS disappeared again, as quickly as it has appeared in the sky.

"ROSE!" It was him. Rose spun around to see the Doctor's image there. Just three meters away from her.

"Doctah! What's happening? Are you okay? The TARDIS, it was here, but just for a second!" Unfortunately, the Doctor didn't hear most of her words. The communication link wasn't clear enough. Not with all the TARDIS energy being used up on the whole "impossible" aspect of this whole final adventure. He broke his gaze a suddenly moved. They watched him dance around. He looked rather silly. His image just jumping around, slamming his hand down at something in front of him. Then his foot jumped into the air. Rose knew that stance. The Doctor was frantically running around the TARDIS controls! But all she could see was the Doctor's image. That image that kept gaining static. Like a screen going in and out of vision, like losing a radio station.

"There!" The Doctor shouted with one last punch of a control. His image cleared a little and he stared at Rose, out of breath. "Well! Hello there, Rose Tyler!"

"Hello Hello." She didn't know what else to say. Then she became worried again, "Doctor, What's happening?"

"I did it Rose. I figured it out. We can be together but I just have to well….erm…. sacrifice a few things." He said the word sacrifice like he wished it didn't sound so dark, he doesn't like sounding dark. He liked to be carefree and witty. He liked it because he knew Rose loved that about him. "Because you love me, Rose Tyler." She grinned at how happy he sounded when he said that. She could barely hold the excitement in that he was coming but… what sacrifices?

"What's going to happen?" She asked, eager to learn.

"Don't worry! I've got a plan! A _real _plan!" She glared at him in disbelief. "I have got a real plan Rose! I even wrote it all down for you! You'll need it to pass some time." He mumbled that last bit.

"Hwhat?" She called out a bit louder. The static was getting stonger still.

"I haven't got much time to explain. I'm sorry. But just, trust the TARDIS and help me. Don't let me be alone anymore, Rose. I need you. I lo—" the static cut in and only the image of a man stood there. Not the doctor's face, brown hair and long coat, just a grey body, like the "ghosts". As if he was going out of focus.

Back on the TARDIS the Doctor scrambled around the controls again. "C'mon then!" He yells at the controls. He stood back up straight. Looking forward at nothing, at no one.

"TARDIS? I need you to record this for me and try to send it to Rose. You'll know when to tell her…." He stopped and swallowed as he looked down. "I'm sorry, Rose. I know you might disapprove, but, I fixed up the TARDIS and made her work harder then she's supposed to. When she and I crash on that beach she'll practically be dead. I also… I had to use everything I had left as a Time Lord. Well, actually-" The TARDIS jolted sending the Doctor back into the controls and stopping his sentence. "Okay, I really haven't the time. Listen to me, Rose Tyler. If you stay with me while I grow up everything will be okay. Er. That doesn't make any sense. I'm using up all the possible energy I could ever achieve in my body and using it to directly fuel the TARDIS! I should die. But, you love me, so I found a way so that doesn't have to happen. I will revert back to childhood and I will have to grow up. I won't remember… everything all at once, but I do certainly hope I will remember you. I'm not certain. I've never done this before. Don't you DARE lose hope Rose Tyler!"

Back on the beach Rose tried to listen to what the grey image was saying. It was cutting in and out.

"Sorry….TARDIS… fix-…. Crash"

"What's he saying then?" Jackie asked.

"SHH!" Rose needed to hear.

It continued "grow…. Body….. die….Rose-ler!"

BOOM! The TARDIS had landed behind them. Something was wrong. It landed on its side! It never does that! Rose ran to the familiar blue box that was falling apart and slightly on fire. The door was cracked open. She climbed in.

When she got her feet on the ground the gravity kind of shifted so she could stand straight up. There was fire everywhere. Pieces were falling from the ceilings, the TARDIS controls were sparking wildly. But where was her Doctor.

"Doctah!" She cried out. "Doctah, where are you!" She started to run across the living room to maybe go look in the kitchen or the wardrobe. But then she heard it.

No. That doesn't sound right. It wasn't the doctor voice greeting her. It was crying.

To be more specific it was a baby crying. "Wwaaaaaah! Ah. Whhaaaa!"

Now worried about a baby being lost in the fire Rose started looking at the ground. Good ol' Rose. Then she saw it! The Doctor's coat! She fell to her knees and crawled under the controls and reached out to drag the coat out from under. But there was more. His suit was there too. Not only that. But….

"Oh my God…" Rose murmured. There was a baby entangled in the Doctor's normal wardrobe. Rose didn't have time to think about it. She quickly scooped up the baby, clothes and all and ran for the TARDIS door.


	3. The Sonic Pacifer

Chapter Three

The Sonic Pacifier

"Oh my God…" Rose murmured. There was a baby entangled in the Doctor's normal wardrobe. Rose didn't have time to think about it. She quickly scooped up the baby, clothes and all and ran for the TARDIS door.

Pete grabbed her arm and held her upright.

"Where is he?" Mickey was frantic. He saw the fire in the TARDIS, anything could have happened. Mickey started to wonder if maybe the Doctor had regenerated again because he died in the crash. He would have given that Doctor a good right hook if he went and changed his face again before Rose could see him.

Rose stood still. Ignoring the burning TARDIS and carefully pulled back the coat lapel and unbuttoned the shirt buttons with one hand to reveal, a tiny baby. He, as she could see, since it's not like he had a diaper on or anything, was sucking on the end of the sonic screwdriver. She quickly pulled it out of the infant's mouth. The baby hadn't cried since Rose picked him up. She didn't understand how he was so calm.

Jackie, who was standing a bit back for safety and all that, ran up to her daughter. She looked at the small package in Rose's arms and immediately began to scream at her daughter "Rose!" She was obviously appalled at the site. "What have you done? Did you have a baby with that man! It certainly looks like him! What did you do up there in the stars!" They all looked at Rose, well, more like glared at her actually.

Rose looked up from the wonderful thing in her arms. She was still captivated by the baby and his eyes. "What? NO! …" They didn't believe her. "No really, no! We never… I only….. He never even said… We didn't do anything like that!" She looked at the baby and mumbled now. "Not even close to anything that would have the result of a baby." She was calmer.

"Well, that baby doesn't look a day old!" Jackie said. For once, she was the only person close to an expert in this matter, based on the people present that is. "Let me have a look." She reached out to the baby to hold him properly. Rose was reluctant but she did as her mum asked.

After Rose had stepped back after handing him off, he began to cry again. It was loud. Not just an unhappy baby, but a baby in pain. A terrible sound for anyone to hear. They all looked confused. He seemed just fine. No scratches on him or anything visibly wrong.

"I don't think he likes you very much, Jackie. Let me try." Pete stood in front of his wife, remembering what it was like when Tony was this age and took up the baby into his fatherly arms.

"WrAAAAAh!" the baby cried even louder. If that was even possible.

"Give him to me." Rose demanded. She took the few steps to her father and grabbed the baby. She held him close. She looked down to see his eyes again. But they were closed. He was sleeping with his hands up and under his chin and his legs slightly raised and crossed at the ankles.

"Well he knows his mum then." Jackie retorted.

"What?" Rose was getting pissed off. "I'm telling you the truth we never…. We never even kissed for Pete's sake!

"What? What do I got to do with you and your love child?" Pete asked.

"Nothing. Never mind. It's a phrase from our old world that…I guess never caught on here." Rose explained aggravated. Then she remembered. "And he's not my love child! I think I would remember having a baby and being pregnant and all that. And never mind it, we've got to save the TARDIS!"

Rose gives the baby to her mum and he starts to cry again. It's okay, the baby is safe but the TARDIS is not. They create a plan, Pete runs to the Hummer and pulls it around. Mickey and Rose attach the TARDIS to a chain, that was in the trunk (for emergencies and that sort of thing, you know). Pete drives the Hummer straight into the water with the TARDIS right behind, still on its side. The doors are open and water seeps into the foyer, over the controls that hiss and spark. Rose peeks in and sees that most of the fire is out. She signals to her father who pulls the soaked, but not burning, TARDIS back onto the beach. Mickey and Pete start talking about how they will get the TARDIS back to the mansion while Rose goes and runs back over to her mother and the baby.

"Why didn't you go back inside to look for the Doctor? He could still be in there!" Jackie says as Rose was still running up to her.

Out of breath Rose says "I don't need to. That's him." She looked at the baby. "He's sleeping for you?"

"Yeah, he fell asleep when you got the TARDIS into the water." Jackie reports.

"What?" Rose breathes. "Oh my God. What if…"

Rose took the baby and held her ear to his little body. "Only one heart is beating! He nearly killed himself. It must have back fired or something when he came through the vortex."

"Hang on. What did you say? 'That's him'? What are you talking about?" Jackie can be thick sometimes.

"This is the Doctor, mum."

"What, like, he changed his face again but now he's a baby?" Becoming a little less thick. Like a slowly melting banana milkshake.

Rose stared at the baby. "No, this _is_ him. My Doctor. Right here. I'm not sure how. But it just is."

"How do you know for sure?" Jackie thinks she is still trying to cover up the fact that the baby is the Doctor junior.

"I just do." She moved the clothes around so the baby might be more comfortable. She started to get the pants, suit coat and the one shoe that survived the fire out of the pile. Then the long brown coat. Well. She put that on. It smelled like him. She hadn't forgotten his scent. And she didn't want to fold it up on the floor of the Hummer. She swaddled the baby in the shirt still with the tie around the collar. She held the baby for the whole ride home. She just watched him and made sure he was still breathing. He looked so weak an pale. She didn't know what else to do.

Rose spent the next few days getting little to no sleep. Life of a new parent. Except she wasn't his mother. They got some formula for him and diapers along with a few other items that were left over from when Tony was that age, a bassinette to put in Rose's room, for example. Since he would only sleep if she was close. She would check for both heart beats but still, only just the one. It made her very concerned. What if he was dying? Should she take him to hospital? No! She couldn't, they would find out he's an alien.

Rose asked her mum three days after she last saw the image of her Doctor, talking to her. "What was I like as a baby?"

"Well, you were sort of whinny overall. Y' never liked sitting still. You always needed to be walked around or rocked or something like that."

Rose chuckled at that. "Well that makes sense." She mumbled to herself.

"But this one is different. You grew so fast. You were gaining weight when you were this age, Tony too. Not this little one. He's not gained any weight."

"Is that bad?" Rose asked, she doesn't know anything about these right little terrors.

"Yeah. Sort of." Her mum replied.

Rose didn't sleep that night. She looked after him. He must be dying. Something must be wrong. How could she figure it out? What did the Doctor say before the TARDIS landed? There was something about dying. She wouldn't forget that, maybe something about his body dying? He did say to trust the TARDIS and to stay with him. A sacrifice? He didn't want to be alone anymore. Rose began to wonder how much time had passed for him since they were apart. It had been three years since the beach the first time around. Those years were horrible to her.

That time and _distance_ spent apart pulled together into a memory that should be more than just buried. It should be cut into pieces, no, maybe, _torn_ into pieces and burned in a slow flame that would make it suffer. Then after that it should be chewed by a Sicorax, spit out, eaten by any inhabitant from Rexicoricusphallivatorius and casted into a deep pit that goes to the center of the earth. Then it can be buried. Yeah, that should be good enough.

No hard feelings I'm sure.

It didn't matter anymore. Rose had hope. The baby felt right in her arms. His eyes looked at her like he knew something. Those dark, deep, brown eyes.

"By the time he grows up you'll be too old!" Jackie said over breakfast, seven days after the beach. Mickey and Pete had been thinking the same thing, but they were a bit more sensitive over the matter. Tony looked up from his cereal confused.

Rose didn't have an answer for her mother. Jackie had been nagging her for days now. Rose was worn out. She fed the baby, every few hours, changed the baby herself, watched over him and most of the time straight through the night. He cried. He wouldn't even stop for Rose and it was getting worse.

"WaaaaaH! He! He! He! Ahhh!" The baby started crying again from the next room. Rose got up immediately leaving her breakfast minus two bites without thinking. Good. She didn't have to answer her mum.

"What's wrong with my little brother dad?" Asked a cutest little Tony in the room.

Pete smiled and calmly explained "He's not you little brother, son. You're not even related. I'm sorry… What made you think that up?"

The conversation ended when Jackie slammed down her fork and followed her daughter. Rose already had the baby in her hands when she got there. "Well?"

"Well what? Shhhh, It's alright, love, I've got you." Rose didn't care what her mother had to say, she was focused on comforting him.

"Rose!"

"I don't know, mum!" She snapped and the baby started crying again. Her mother stepped back, not that Rose had never ever talked back to her, it was just different. Like a mother protecting her baby.

Rose stared at her mother waiting for something to be said. Maybe an apology. But nothing happened. Rose marched out of the room. With him, of course.

She went to the garage, where the Hummer and the TARDIS were parked. She stood by the familiar blue doors. The baby was still crying.

"Trust the TARDIS." She whispered. She looked at the crying baby. What a horrible sound. Tony never cried this loud all the time. She made up her mind and thought the baby might enjoy being inside the TARDIS. She carefully walked in. It was dark, the only light came from the open doors. The baby suddenly stopped crying. She turned to let the light shine on his face. He was barely breathing. She checked his heart beat… Still checking… Where is it? Rose was panicking. She couldn't hear either heart beating!

Then the baby started glowing.

"No!" Rose knew what was happening. He was regenerating. He had just died! Tears started to fill her eyes. He was getting heavy, too much for her to hold. What was happening? He was still the size of an infant. She fell to her knees and put the baby on the metal floor of the TARDIS. As soon as he touched the floor he began to change. An explosion of light came from all of his skin. He started to…


	4. Hwhat?

Chapter Four

Hwhat?

She fell to her knees and put the baby on the metal floor of the TARDIS. As soon as he touched the floor he began to change. An explosion of light came from all over his skin. He started to grow, his head grew thicker hair, his arms and legs became longer but not too long.

Then, the light radiating from his skin dimmed.

Rose had fallen back, feet flat on the ground along with her bum. She watched, open mouthed and breathing heavily. It was dark. She couldn't exactly see. He stood up. He wasn't a baby anymore. He could stand!

"Rose?" A weak young voice said.

He can talk! Rose started to get up. He was standing next to the TARDIS controls, holding onto the edge that matched the height of his shoulders. His eyes could barely see over the buttons and switches.

"…Rose? Please..." A young voice started to sniffle.

"…I'm here, I'm right here." She said cautiously. Rose started crawling closer to him, just slightly apprehensive.

Thud!

He passed out. He was, now, lying on the metal grates of the TARDIS floor. Rose crawled up to his side. It was a young boy, somewhere around Tony's age. He had thick, messy brown hair.

"Doctor?" She whispered. Was it really him? How did he change like that? Was it regeneration? Was this the baby? She decided to check his heart. Two hearts=one Doctor. Her Doctor.

3 + 3 = 1dr.

No luck, only one heart beat, and it was racing.

Rose quickly took off the dressing gown over her jim-jams and covered the naked boy. She picked him up resting his head in the crook of her elbow and his feet dangling over her other arm. She carefully got up, he was just barely small enough to carry in this way. She came out of the TARDIS and called "Mum! Dad! Something happened. Mickey!"

Rose told the family exactly what she saw, Jackie asked annoying questions, Mickey looked worried and Pete held a comforting arm over his daughter's shoulders. The child was lying under the covers in Rose's bed while they discussed all the possibilities of what could have happened. He was short of breath but still asleep.

Finally, Jackie calmed down enough to say. "Well, that's one point towards you."

"What do you mean?" Rose knew what might be coming.

"If he glows like that, there's one thing saying he's not your kid." She said quickly.

"Jackie!" Pete and Mickey said together. They both knew how hard this was on Rose. She didn't need Jackie bothering her too.

Pete took Jackie by the arm, forcefully but not aggressive and led her out of the room.

That left Rose, Mickey and the…

"Do you still think that's the Doctor?" Mickey asked glancing between Rose's face and the tucked-in little one.

"…Yeah. It has to be…" She was sure of what she said but still spoke under her breath.

"Well, at least he's not crying anymore!" Mickey was trying to make her smile.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Well, I got to go to work." Mickey worked with the TORCHWOOD INSTITUTE. Mickey had an important job…something to do with computers…Rose didn't remember the title. He left leaving the door partly open.

Rose began to cautiously walk towards the bed. She sat on the edge and brushed the boy's hair to the left. She still hadn't seen his eyes.

"WOOOOoooSE!" a young boy's voice yelled. Tony was running down the hall, pretending to fly apparently. Soon, the boy ran into the room and hopped up onto the bed. He grabbed onto the covers to help pull him up. He grinned to see his sister, then, looked at the other boy in her bed.

"It's alright, Tony, he's just taking a nap."

"Oh." Tony stared. "I wanna nap! Wit little brother!"

"Tony, I don't think… I mean he's not-"

"Eee! PLEEEASE!" Tony already heard the negative answer to his question and he was going to fight for what he wanted, like every three-year-old would. He knew his sister couldn't resist a good whine.

"Tony, I…" The unrelenting whining continued. "ALRIGHT! fine." She was too tired to fight. "You lay down and I'm going to go take a shower. You keep an eye on him, okay?"

"KAY!" Tony was pleased and started curling up underneath the covers, but still keeping his distance.

Tony didn't know much about babies. He didn't know how long it took him to grow up. At his age, Tony didn't even understand that he himself was once a baby. All he knew about the matter was that a baby duckling grows into a duck. He didn't even think about the in between stuff.

Tony lay on his side, staring at the dark haired boy's face on the pillow next to him.

"Pst! Little bruvah!" Tony tried his best to whisper.

"What?" A tired voice answered.

"OI! You're awake! Wanna play?" Tony sat up with the covers still over his kicking legs.

"Rose?" Still tired, his eyes were squinted shut.

"That's sissy! She's taking a shower."

"Who…" The dark haired boy coughed. "Who are you?"

"Tony! You aw my little bruvah!" Tony proudly exclaimed.

"Oh, that's nice. I always wanted a big brother." He opened his eyes after a yawn to see: blond hair, cute face and big eyes. Definitely a child of Jackie and Pete… a sibling of Rose. He jolted up. "Rose!"

"Not heaw." Tony reported.

"But…. But I need… I need her!" The dark haired boy sniffled and he started to cry.

"It's okay, little bruvah! No crying! Let's pway!"

The brunette boy looked at the blonde boy. Something about him was comforting. So, he wiped his nose, elbow to wrist, with the sleeve of Tony's borrowed jim-jams, and said, "…Okay… well, um. How do we do that?"

Tony was confused. How could he not know how to _play_? Tony got an idea. "Like THIS!" He grabbed the pillow behind him and hit his opponent in the face, maybe a little too hard.

"Oh. I'm sowwy…. You okay?" Tony felt guilty.

"YEAH!" The dark haired boy skillfully grabbed his own pillow and smacked Tony on the back with it.

Down the hall, Rose turned off the water and grabbed the hanging towel. It was nice to get a shower in. No more bottles or diaper changes to rush back to. Her long hair stuck to the back of her wet neck and bare back. She started to run the towel down her legs and then wrapped it around herself. She went to grab her brush. Wait. What's that noise? Rose looked up into the mirror. Oh. It was just Tony playing or something.

But wait.

Who was he playing with!

Rose left the brush and ran down the hall keeping one arm across her chest to keep her towel up and to… well, you know.

"Tony!" She called as she ran into her bedroom. She stopped just a few steps in and saw two boys jumping on her bed in a heap of feathers. They were both smiling. In fact, they were laughing so loud that they didn't notice the big sister enter the room.

"I… I just…" She whispered to herself. The dark haired boy noticed her first.

"ROSE!" He gleamed and leapt off the bed, actually landing on his feet and began to run towards her.

"Um. Hello." She didn't know what to say but by now the boy had his head buried into her stomach, which was covered by the soft, warm towel. He squeezed her as much as his small arms would allow.

She placed her hands on the back of her admirer and bent over, just a bit. Tony looked on in a curious sort of manner, some of the feathers had landed on his head and mixed into his blonde hair.

Rose looked down and loosened her grip. Then. The dark hair started to lean back and brown eyes looked up at her.

"Hello Rose Tyler!" He was beaming. And she was fainting.

Rose woke up on her bed with her mum standing there. There was a cloth on her forehead.

"Just sit still, love, the doctor will be here any minute now." Her mother adjusted the cloth.

"WHAT?" She thought she misheard and picked her head up to face her mother.

"Nooo. A normal doctor. _A _doctor. Not _the_ Doctor." Jackie was a little fed up with her daughter's obsession. However, she wasn't surprised that Rose didn't start dating or flirting again. After all, when Pete died back on their home world and time she had never found anyone to take his place. Rose was definitely her daughter.

Rose settled back into her pillow, then she noticed. There was something lying next to her. Sharing her pillow. Her little brother, maybe? No. This boy had dark brown hair.

"Um… Hello. Rose. Tyler?" The boy tried to say it again, this time a bit more carefully as to not scare her into a faint.

Rose glared and tried not to blink.

A "Hello" was breathed out.

"Hi!" He beamed again.

"Um… are you.." She didn't know how to word this very important question.

"Oh my God." Jackie said, annoyed at her daughter's reluctance. Then, she yelled, "Are you the Doctah?"

There was silence in the room. The boy stared at both women who were glaring back at him. Was he in trouble?

"…. Doctor who?" He asked honestly.

Rose's heart sank. It wasn't him. He would know. Right? She didn't have a chance to drop the tears that started to well up in her eyes before Jackie shrieked. "Well, that settles it then! He's your kid! Yours and that damn Doctor of yours! He looks like his dad, that's for sure!"

Rose broke her gaze from the boy and turned back to her mum. Her nearly wet hair spun around like a whip.

"MUM! I never had a baby! We never snogged or had…" She paused for a moment. She was right in front of a young boy, she probably shouldn't say the word _sex_ in front of a four-year-old. "We never had…._you know_." Her mother crossed her arms, as far as Jackie was concerned there was no way her daughter could dig herself out of this deep of a hole. "Never EVER!" Rose emphasized, but it didn't help.

"Hwhat?" the young voice squeaked.

Rose spun back around to see his face again. That _definitely_ sounded like her Doctor.

"How… er…" She looked down at the boy's body. He wasn't a baby anymore. "How did…." He interjected and spoke fast as lighting.

"You mean, how did I break the laws of time and space, arrive here, and then ten thousand eighty minutes later multiply all the cells in my body by three point seven two, increase my mass, learn to walk, talk and reason in a millisecond?"

Wow. That was fast. Wait! A boy his age can't talk like that?

Both female jaws dropped.

He waited for them to say something. Then, composed his next words carefully…

"…How should I know?"

_Hello! Sorry about the "Doctor who?" I just couldn't resist. I certainly hope you are enjoying reading this as much as I enjoy writing it. Thanks for reading! Any suggestions? Suggest away! _

_The next chapters are already in the works._


	5. The Doctor Is In

Chapter Five

The Doctor Is In

"… How should I know?" the little dark haired boy asked honestly.

Rose smirked at the cuteness and reached to take a feather out of his hair.

He grinned and asked another question. "Where's my big brother?"

"He's at school now." Jackie said. "And he's not your-"

Rose interjected. "Why do you think he's your big brother?" There was a ring at the door and Jackie went to go get it. She rolled her eyes as she left the room.

His eyes rounded and he said in a mocking tone "Duh! Because he told me he was, you silly goose!"

Dr. Jed came into the room. He was a close friend of the Tylers and especially Pete. He was more than happy to make a simple house call to break up his busy day at his practice. Not many doctors get house calls anymore.

"Why, hello there, Tony! Oh… you're not Tony." Dr. Jed said in a cute voice curious to meet the new little friend of the Tyler family. "What's your name?" He was now leaning next to the brown haired boy's side of the bed.

Jackie and Rose tried to answer quickly at the same time with two stories that did not coincide. Jackie was saying something about that he was a distance relative of her own aunt, twice removed. Rose said that she found him wondering around outside in the streets and he was probably an orphan. Both stories were rushed and completed in a mumbled sentence or two. It was as if they both should have ended with the phrase 'or something like that…'

Dr. Jed looked up from the boy who was simply smiling back at him. "Oh… I see that you haven't quite figured out your story yet have you. Just tell me, is he from your planet Jackie?"

Rose and Jackie looked shocked.

Dr. Jed stood up straight. "It's alright. Yes, I know everything." Rose kind of chuckled at this, there was no way he knew "everything". "I demanded an explanation from Pete when you got the flu for the third time Jackie. It was as if you didn't receive your 360 flu vaccine as an infant. I thought maybe you just came from a homeless family or immigrated here, but that didn't explain your accent. When Pete denied both stories I said that you were special and I wanted to write a case study about: The first case to ever get the flu three times after getting the flu vaccine. Well, I would have titled it more strategically." He grinned a little and looked up trying to remember what title he picked out for his case study. He snapped out of it and got back to business. "Ah. Anyway! Pete begged me not to do it and when I asked why and reminded him about doctor-patient confidentiality, Pete explained what happened."

Rose and Jackie looked at each other. They didn't want to say anything Dr. Jed didn't know. The little voice spoke up, he wanted to hear the rest of the story. "What happened?"

"Oh no! I'm sorry! Does he not know?"

"Well… erm…" Rose looked back at her mother. "Yes, he kinda knows, but he's just little, you know?"

Dr. Jed, nodding all knowingly, then leaned in close to the little boy and told this story in a very charismatic way, with large gestures and over exaggerated words.

"Not so so long ago in a galaxy and planet far FAR awaaaay…" He paused to see if the little one was interested at all, and his big brown eyes said 'yes', so Dr. Jed continued. "Miss Jackie over there lived on another… planet!" He had paused to add some suspense.

"Oh! WOW!" The little boy was soaking it all up. "Another planet?"

This bothered Rose. The Doctor had been to nearly all the planets in his lifetime. Did he totally forget or was this not her Doctor.

Dr. Jed continued "And probably a little bit before you were born there were some bad robots trying to destroy both of our worlds! Miss Jackie was a warrior from her planet and jumped onto their ship to try to stop them but little did she know that they could teleport from her planet to this planet. By the time the battle was over, Miss Jackie was stuck here on our planet. Then, she soon met Mr. Tyler and they fell in love and lived happily ever after!" He rushed in a mumbled; "Except for having the flu every so often."

The little boy sat not moving. Was the performance that bad? Oh, yes he had forgotten to add the last bit. "THE END!" Dr. Jed said in a sing-song voice.

"Oh. YEAH!" The little one clapped in delight.

"Well, anyway…" Dr. Jed stood up and straightened his jacket. "I came to have a look at you Rose. You fainted?"

Dr. Jed did a few things like checked her heart rate and made sure her pupils dilated correctly.

"No sign of concussion whatsoever! You just had a little fright is all. Just do me a favor, go drink a good amount of water and have a good salty meal. You're blood sugar may have been low and you may need some electrolytes."

"Oh, um… yes, of course." Rose wasn't really paying attention. She was watching the little one play in Dr. Jed's black bag.

"Can I be Rose's doctor now?" He was eager.

"Well, erm…" He looked at his silver watch. "I suppose my colleagues can handle themselves for a bit more." Dr. Jed smirked, picked him up off the floor and sat him next to Rose. "Alright, first thing you need to know about being a doctor is bed side manner. You have to be nice to your patient and be sure you are treating her as a human being." He looked at the boy waiting for a reply.

"Human being, got it." He rusted the stethoscope from the bag.

"Next, before I allow you to be her doctor you need to take an oath. It's very special."

"Alright! I'm ready!" The boy sat up straight, facing Dr. Jed directly.

Rose was lying on the bed between them. The boy, patiently kneeling next to her and Dr. Jed was leaning over to get into his bag on the floor. Rose watched as Dr. Jed pulled out a small book from his black bag. It was a worn leather dark brown book. He opened to a page that was marked with a thin piece of dark blue ribbon. A picture fell out from between the pages and Dr. Jed picked it up immediately. Rose saw a picture of a young Dr. Jed and a young woman. She had a bright ring on her finger. They were very happy. He grinned a bit at the picture and tucked it into the pages before the blue ribbon.

"Okay, here we are! Now, you need to know this is very important. An oath is a promise to your family, your dearest friends, anyone you will ever work with, and also to yourself. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir." He was serious.

"Now, I will read the oath, this is the very same oath that I took when I became a doctor. I will read it and if you agree with it and you will promise to listen to it and do what it says you then can repeat what I say. Okay?"

"Yes, okay."

Rose watched as the little boy all so seriously repeats every word of the oath.

"I swear to fulfill, to the best of my ability and judgment, this covenant." Dr. Jed proudly states and the boy repeats with a similar inflection.

"I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow." He repeats.

"I will apply, for the benefit of the sick, all measures that are required, avoiding those twin traps of overtreatment and therapeutic nihilism." He repeated and where Dr. Jed thought he would stumble the boy resounded the words perfectly.

"I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug." He repeated with a smile.

"I will not be ashamed to say 'I know not', nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery." Repeated.

"I will respect the privacy of my patients, for their problems are not disclosed to me that the world may know." Repeated.

"Most especially must I tread with care in matters of life and death." At this the boy looked down and with the eyes like a man who has fought in wars, he repeated.

"If it is given to me to save a life, all thanks. But it may also be within my power to take a life; this awesome responsibility must be faced with great humbleness and awareness of my own frailty." He looks at Rose and gave a little wink, then looked back at Dr. Jed in all seriousness again and repeats.

"Above all, I must not play at God." The boy paused at first, and then repeated.

"I will remember that I do not treat a fever chart, a cancerous growth, but a sick human being, whose illness may affect the person's family and economic stability." He repeated.

"My responsibility includes these related problems, if I am to care adequately for the sick. I will prevent disease whenever I can, for prevention is preferable to cure." He repeated.

"I will remember that I remain a member of society with special obligations to all my fellow human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm."

At this the boy begins to repeat and says "I will remember that I remain a member of society with special obligations to all my human beings, those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm." Rose caught the one word he left out, but Dr. Jed did not. He continued while Rose fought back a smile.

"If I do not violate this oath, may I enjoy life and art, respected while I live and remembered with affection thereafter." He repeats.

"May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I long experience the joy of healing those who seek my help." He grins from ear to ear and so does Rose. She thought about how all the words made perfect sense to her Doctor. Her Doctor upholds the finest of traditions of being a Time Lord by upholding the law of the Shadow Proclamation. Then, there were the words 'may I long experience'. She didn't have to think over that one. Then, the end, 'help', the one word her Doctor could never resist.

The boy knelt higher and pulled his shoulders back saying "May I always act so as to preserve the finest traditions of my calling and may I LONG experience the joy of healing those who seek my help!" His words got louder and stronger as the sentence finally came to an end.

Dr. Jed was trying to be professional but he was grinning thinking on how serious the boy just took it all. "A very fine young boy indeed." He said to Rose. "Now you're a doctor!" Dr. Jed patted him on his shoulder.

"Well ain't that just fantastic." Rose whispered through her teeth.

"Oh. You know what? I don't even know your name. What's your name boy?"

He was putting the stethoscope around his neck, looked up and replied. "I'm the Doctor! Rose's Doctor!"

Rose slammed her head back into her pillow.

Hello readers! Thanks to everyone who has made this story a favorite and is still following along. I'm planning my wedding to my own doctor right now so sorry it's been so long. You know I read other fan fics and read what the authors say at the bottom and they always apologize for taking so long to upload and I normally just roll my eyes and click to go read the next chapter. Now I understand why they apologize and feel so bad. If you don't write, your characters don't get to live on, and no one knows their story. I won't let this story die, that's for sure. See you in the next chapters!


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